The Assassin and the Sorceress
by saiyankiyse
Summary: A/U. Quite obviously Inu Yasha is the assassin and Kagome is the sorceress. How does love bring them together in a dried up waste land? And how did Miroku finally convince Sango to bear his child?
1. Default Chapter

Here's the edited version of chapter 1, the assassin and the sorceress. I have always realized my need for a beta and I wish I had asked someone to do it sooner. So I wanted to send a really big THANK YOU! to Merith for helping me out on that. You never notice your own errors no matter how anal your are about making use of spelling and grammar check, go figure...  
  
Okay, let's get this out of the way.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inu Yasha or anything remotely connected to its creation. I just write fan fiction.  
  
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As dusk calmly swept over a land framed by rugged mountains adorned with snow-capped peaks, a serenity seemed to spread over all, a scene that was that was belied by the inhabitants of the range's foothills. Underneath the rocky oak and pine covered hills were the burrowed dens of the inu youkai. The evening of peace was broken by the inu youkai young. Tonight, gathered in the communal area that linked each den together, were all those who were not yet considered an adult. And like any young thing, there was no such behavior as sitting still and being silent.  
  
"Ow! Stop it!" shrieked a white-haired female pup, the two pointed ears atop her head denoting her as a hanyou.  
  
"No! Move outta the way!" bullied her assailant, also a white-haired male pup of full youkai ancestry.  
  
"No, it's mine!"  
  
"Nuh-uh!"  
  
"Uh-huh"  
  
"Nuh-uh!"  
  
"Uh-huh"  
  
"Jii-chan, make him stop!" the female begged her elder who had been sitting silently, and with credible patience, amidst the loud noise and bickering caused by the group of pups in the cavernous interior.  
  
'Why me?' the elder asked the gods above, praying for more of the patience he was swiftly running out of. He had to shut them up and quick before he completely 'lost it'.  
  
"SILENCE!" he roared, catching everyone's attention by the sound of his voice reverberating of the walls and commanding a stop to all sounds. The quiet he was rewarded with was more than satisfactory and he grinned smugly at his alpha male domination of them all.  
  
"Now," he said and then cleared his throat, "do you want to hear the tale or not?"  
  
Every little body turned to face him as he sat upon the rock where he usually laid down the law over the pack. Each ear turned to give its complete attention to story about to be told.  
  
"Tonight, I will tell you a new tale," he began in a low, serious tone with every eye trained to his face as if by looking away they would miss something. "The one of the Assassin and the Sorceress.."  
  
~*~ A dust storm in a land rarely punctuated by rainstorms was hardly an abnormal occurrence. However, the cause for such storms was often the subject of debate and opinion as maybe they developed a little too often and erratically. Such is the case for this day, as to anyone else's eye there seemed to be a storm passing a little too directly. After all, when does nature flow in a straight line?  
  
Upon closer observance at the head of the dust storm, one could see a streak of something shining white in color. For those who didn't know, it would be dismissed as just something caught up in the storm. For those who did, they knew the one that caused the storms ran through these parched lands quite frequently.  
  
At an even closer look one would find a boy, no, a young man at the head of the storm. The shining of white came from his abundant hair crowning his head and at present cascaded behind him like a flag.  
  
~*~ "Ooooh, oooooh!" crowed a high pitched voice, while a little hand shot into the air. "Is it an inu, jii-chan?"  
  
The elder snorted and rolled his eyes. "If you would let me tell the tale without interruption, maybe you'll find out."  
  
"Gomen," he apologized  
  
"Now as I was saying...," ~*~  
  
He was of average height, not quite having finished growing. His body was gangly, yet well built as attested by his bare chest bronzed by the sun that blazed over his homeland day in and day out. His legs were equally as well muscled, but were currently clad by a pair of loose fitting pants made from the skin of the fire rat, so not much could be noted of them. Only a fool would've assumed otherwise, especially if you could see him running now. A mask of determination creased his otherwise expressionless face as he was somewhat pressed to reach his destination. His golden eyes sparkled with fire of their own as they scanned the land ahead for obstacles. But his most remarkable features from his otherwise very human appearance were the two small triangles sitting atop his head, his ears. The hair, eyes, and ears told it all. Our mysterious dust storm was caused by none other than an inu youkai, or more specifically and inu hanyou.  
  
~*~ The elder paused for effect, but there were no exclamations of surprise. The moment was ruined by a pup that hadn't yet seen his fifth summer.  
  
*sigh* ~*~  
  
This particular inu hanyou was on a mission. It is now that one might notice the odd burden over the inu hanyou's shoulder. It looked like some kind of long bundle draped across his back and it was pretty cumbersome looking bundle at that. All you could really do was wonder what he was carrying.  
  
The young, inu hanyou was none too pleased with his bundle. Had he really had a choice in the matter he would have left it, but his Mother would never had forgiven him if he had. It wasn't that it was heavy or the distance he had to carry it across, he was just annoyed with it. But how could someone by angry with an inanimate object you ask?  
  
*COUGH! COUGH!* "I don't suppose you could slow down Yash? All of this dust is killing me," the bundle said.  
  
"I don't think so," Yash replied. "The faster I go, the sooner we'll be home."  
  
"But I'll probably choke off the dust flying in my face before we get there," the bundle whined.  
  
"Just shut up, Miroku!" Yash yelled at Miroku the Bundle, glancing briefly over his shoulder. "If you kept your hands to yourself, you wouldn't be there in the first place."  
  
"I've already told you that this wasn't a matter of keeping my hand to my self," Miroku defended himself.  
  
"So you mean to tell me that all this had absolutely, positively NOTHING to do with a woman?" Yash asked.  
  
"No.not exactly," Miroku tried to explain.  
  
"What does 'not exactly' mean?" he asked menacingly.  
  
"You see, what had happened was-," Miroku began.  
  
"Oh, boy, here comes the lie," Inu Yasha muttered.  
  
"I'm not lying! Just listen!"  
  
Inu Yasha rolled his eyes and snorted, but both ears turned back to catch every word from his nuisance of a burden brother.  
  
"Anyway, there was this girl named Sango and-," Miroku tried again, but Inu Yasha's short temper didn't allow him to go a word further.  
  
Miroku found himself dumped unceremoniously from his prone position over Inu Yasha's shoulder. The impact from the landing stirred up a small amount of dust and caused a few of Miroku's lesser wounds to reopen.  
  
"Dammit Yash! That hurt!" Miroku half yelled, half moaned at the hanyou standing over him.  
  
"It was supposed to hurt, you baka!" Inu Yasha yelled back. "I'm tired of getting caught up in your woman problems! What the hell did you do this time? You said something to the wrong girl this time didn't you?"  
  
Miroku flinched at Yash's increasingly disturbing accuracy.  
  
"Let me guess: this Naraku is Sango's father and she went crying to him about you offending her modesty? Or better yet," Inu Yasha continued, his voice getting louder with every accusation, "you actually managed to convince some female to 'bear your heir' and now her father's pissed!"  
  
Miroku's mumbled response which Inu Yasha didn't hear because of the sound of his own blood was pounding through his ears from getting so worked up. Once his mind registered that his dark-haired brother had made a response he said,  
  
"What?"  
  
Miroku sat up a little, using the arm that wasn't broken to push himself up. He looked at Yash out of the corner of his eye knowing he wasn't going to like his response.  
  
"Something like that," he muttered again, before flinching away fully expecting his brother's violent youkai temper to come down on him. When nothing happened immediately, he cracked an eye open to see why he wasn't being beaten back into a pulp. He saw Inu Yasha kneeling beside him with his head down, taking deep, heaving breaths. His silvery-white hair had fallen around him, shielding his face from view. Miroku had hoped that this was his brother's attempt to control his temper, but when Inu Yasha lifted his head and Miroku saw the red glow that had taken over his eyes, he knew he was done for.  
  
~*~ "Is he really going to beat him up, jii-chan?" asked Kumi, the female being harassed before the tale had even begun.  
  
"Unfortunately, no. Although..," ~*~  
  
The growl now emanating from his brother practically confirmed his death sentence and he tried his hardest to scoot away on his behind using his injured legs for propulsion. He didn't manage to get far before Yash was on him, lifting his body from the ground by the tattered remains of his shirt. Miroku found his face only inches away from that of the furious inu hanyou.  
  
"You have to the count of five to give me a GOOD reason NOT to maul you and leave your carcass for the scavengers!" Inu Yasha snarled, teeth bared.  
  
Miroku swallowed audibly and opened his mouth to speak, but not another sound followed.  
  
"Five....," Inu Yasha began.  
  
"Okay! Okay! I met this girl Sango and," Miroku blurted out.  
  
"Four...."  
  
"we fell in love and,"  
  
"THREE!" Inu Yasha let go of Miroku, so that he was now holding him up with one hand. The other hand he brought back, poised for rending, making a great show of cracking his knuckles and flexing his claws.  
  
"I SWEAR I didn't know anything about this Naraku guy!"  
  
"TWO!"  
  
"ANDSHESGOINGTOHAVEMYCHILD!!!"  
  
"ONE-, what?!"  
  
The angry red faded away to original warm amber gold Miroku much preferred, especially when it was directed at him. Inu Yasha's anger washed away like ice melt. He dropped his elder brother without thinking, his mouth gaped open in surprise, waiting for a bug to take up residence.  
  
"My child," Miroku repeated. "That's why we have to go back, that's why we've got to do as Naraku asked. We have to do what he wants. We have to save them both."  
  
Miroku himself was now panting after the mild exertion. He sighed in disgust at his inability to perform the simplest tasks.  
  
Yash crouched down to Miroku's level. "Are you sure?" he asked with all seriousness due to the situation.  
  
"I would say so since I'm her one and only," Miroku answered with smug male certainty at the implied question.  
  
Yash was now clearly amused. He shook his head in disbelief before hoisting Miroku back over his shoulder. That situation defused, Miroku relaxed as Yash took up his previously interrupted lope.  
  
The dust trail created by his rapid passing rose and fell like a wave. His pace was incredible and few other youkai could keep up, much less an ordinary human. Even if Miroku had been of sound body, he wouldn't have been able to keep up either. Being raised among other young inu youkai, he did possess more strength, speed, and endurance than most humans, but it would never be enough to match his younger brother.  
  
In all honesty, Miroku felt extremely lucky to have a little brother like Inu Yasha. It was strange, but normally it was the elder brother that looked out for the younger. No matter how stupid the situation Miroku got into, he could always count on 'Yash' to get him out of it. Of course the expected thorough beating he received in disguise as training was worth it to compensate for Yash's time. Yash's demon heritage gave any human a pause before deciding whether or not to tangle with him. Even other full youkai didn't want to fight him. His lineage alone backed off most, the rest were afraid to see proof of his training.  
  
~*~ "See, Takeshi!" Kumi admonished her 'assailant'. "I told you a hanyou could be just as strong as a full youkai!"  
  
"Feh," was Takeshi's only response, obviously still not ready to believe.  
  
"ANYWAY," the elder continued over the pups. ~*~  
  
Yash had decided when he was still small that he wanted to be the one to protect their Mother and as a result he learned fighting techniques that most didn't even have the temerity to contemplate much less master. Miroku followed his training as much as his body would allow, but Yash always more than surpassed him. In his final stages of learning Yash chose a trade, one extremely rare for inu youkai, but one that seemed to suit Yash perfectly.  
  
Assassin.  
  
~*~ "But there are plenty of inu's to take up that trade," called out an adolescent who lounged at the edge of the group. "It's what this pack is known for."  
  
The elder shook his head in disgust. Obviously, this one hadn't understood this was a tale of the PAST.  
  
"If I have to tell any of you to shut your mouths again and listen, I won't finish the tale!" ~*~  
  
Many didn't think to much of the idea especially his parents, but with the loss of his Father and his Mother trapped by illness there wasn't much protesting either could do now. Yash would take any target as long as the price was right. He had never failed and his skill was spoken of in awe.  
  
"You know Mother is going to be furious about you bringing home a pregnant mate without her having met her first," Yash said over his shoulder without breaking his stride.  
  
"Huh, well, having her furious with me for bringing home a pregnant mate is better than not bringing home one at all," Miroku countered.  
  
Yash growled in response.  
  
~*~ "Now while all that is going on, there is another's story we must consider," the elder went on.  
  
"You mean that of Inu Yasha's future mate, Kagome," stated a female inu, far older than any of those seated before him.  
  
"Sayaka!" the elder snapped. "You'll spoil the tale!"  
  
Sayaka laughed softly. "Maybe if I hadn't heard the tale so many times, otou-san, I wouldn't be able to tell it."  
  
She grinned in innocence while her otou-san mumbled something about 'ungrateful pups' under his breath. His irritation didn't last long, for while this pup of his bore his coloring and hanyou features, she also had the look of her mother in her youth. His soft spot for his mate was well known and often abused, especially by his daughters.  
  
"Be about your business, Sayaka," he ordered.  
  
"I have no business to be about, otou-san. I just came to listen," she sat gracefully off to the side before further arguments could be made. Three of her own young pups, who had been sitting in the group, immediately clambered over to nestle about her.  
  
"Now, if that's the last interruption...," the elder looked out the corner of his eye at his daughter.  
  
She grinned back good-naturedly and held her hands up in peace.  
  
"Next, I'll tell you of Kagome, who was unhappy with life and was forced to perform deeds that weighed heavily on her conscience." ~*~  
  
"Do it, Kagome," the woman said to the young girl at her side.  
  
"I can't," answered Kagome.  
  
"I said do it NOW!"  
  
"But I just don't think it seems right -,"  
  
"I'm not asking you to think, I said strike!" The warning glowed in the first speaker's eyes and Kagome knew what would happen if she didn't do as she was told.  
  
Kagome turned to ragged line of people down below her. Prisoners, all of them, or so she had been informed. She was high at the top of the stairs of the High Temple where all executions were conducted. The pitiful people below didn't deserve the sort of death she could deal out.  
  
"STRIKE NOW!" she was again commanded.  
  
This time, frightened for her own life, she did as she was bade. An answering glow filled her own eyes, brighter than star shine, as she raised two fingers to her forehead. The glow seemed to spread into her fingers from this slight touch and they too shone with a burning white fire. No sooner had the fingers left her head to point down at the prisoners, the light shot from her hand faster than any arrow and completely obliterated all those standing execution pit.  
  
A scorch mark and a little ash was all that was left. The power had receded had Kagome closed her eyes to the scene. She knew that there wasn't any sort of gore left to be seen, but that didn't change the fact that she knew people had been standing there but moments ago. Her eyes clenched even harder as she had to suppress the bile trying to find exit from her stomach.  
  
"That was well done, Kagome. You're much improved from the first time I set you this task," the same female voice praised her.  
  
"May I go now, Lady Mother?" Kagome asked with all neutrality that she could muster.  
  
"Yes, yes, you may go," Kagome's mother permitted her with a wave of her hand. "I will see you at dinner."  
  
Kagome bowed with grace that had been trained into her from a young age and quickly excused herself into the High Temple. She took deep breaths, hoping to calm her stomach as she descended into the tunnels below that connected the High Temple to the Palace. She walked briskly through the tunnels made of sandstone with mage lights at regular intervals to keep the darkness at bay. Her goal was her own bedroom where she could have some peace to herself away from the atrocities her Mother forced her to commit.  
  
The tunnel let her out into a hall, not far from the wing where all of her family's rooms were. For once, she was glad to have a room to herself rather than still be in the nursery with her other younger siblings. Before she could step onto the marble floors that paved the halls, she removed her sandals she had worn and carried them. Her mother permitted no scuff marks on her precious floors, by neither her children, servants nor staff. Kagome had seen people executed for lesser offences.  
  
She made it to her room without passing another soul, not even a guard was in evidence, but that was how her Mother liked it. She wanted them to be doing their jobs, but she didn't want them to be seen doing it; all part of her strategy to seem more vulnerable than she actually was. Not that Kagome had any desire to come near anyone, actually, most people stayed away of their own accord. No one wanted to be touched by this particular daughter of the queen.  
  
Kagome closed the door soundly both with a conventional lock and key and with a small seal from her magic that only she, or a greater sorceress, could open. Rather than head for her bed, she sat at the small pond near her balcony. She stared at the colorful fish swimming back and forth lazily without a care in the world or a more important thought in their heads than 'where's the next meal?'. She often wondered why she couldn't have been born to a more simple life.  
  
She focused on her reflection in the pool. The same serious face that looked at her everyday stared back. The lack of emotion often unnerved people, but since that was how she had been schooled to be it was hard to break out of the impassivity. Her wild, dark hair framed a face that was far too pale to belong to someone that had grown up in a desert, but again it seemed to be another characteristic that she just couldn't shake. If anything it gave her a more exotic look. Her brown eyes, often compared to the color of pure copper, held no amusement, nor anger, or anything else. They just stared back too with the dark line of kohl beneath them actually enhancing her exoticness.  
  
Her hand slapped against the water in frustration. She was tired of everything about her life and often contemplated running away to a place that knew nothing of her or her mother, where she could start over and just be a regular girl.  
  
The chances of that happening were very unlikely.  
  
Kagome wondered what her elder sister was up to and closed her eyes to feel out her presence using her 'Other Sight'. The use of 'Other Sight' was tedious. Usually you had to know specifically what you were looking for or you would spend most of your time fumbling around. Everything gave off a certain amount of a certain type of energy. Her mother's presence was excessively easy to find as her power shone out like a beacon for miles around to anyone that could see it. The aura was a deep purple as well as most other users of magic that Kagome had ever come across. Her sister's aura would be purple, but of a significantly reduced power level. Kagome's 'eyes' passed over quite a few things and people before she found her eldest sister in her own room shouting at maid. Kagome felt a moment of pity for the creature, but she had chosen to work here and could leave at any time.  
  
Soon Kagome opened her eyes to stare at the opulence of her own bedroom cast in the warm golden glow of the setting sun. She would give it all up just to find true happiness.  
  
*KNOCK, KNOCK*  
  
Kagome's looked at her door and instantly willed her 'Other Sight' to show her who was there. All it revealed was one of the guards.  
  
"Yes?" she called out, making no move to open the door.  
  
"Lady Kagome, her highness, Queen Yokota, wishes your presence," the guard relayed precisely.  
  
Kagome sighed and briefly wondered how long she had been sitting there woolgathering. It was time for the evening meal already.  
  
"Tell my mother that I shall be with her shortly."  
  
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okay. That was it. Do your worst.  
  
*kiyse* 


	2. The Broken Mistake

This took forever for me to complete and this is one of the longest chapters I've ever written. According to my outline, it should've been longer, but enough was enough.  
  
Oh and if you were reading this before, please re-read Ch. 1 unless you've been reading it at the ID forum.  
  
DISCLAIMER: You know I don't, so it doesn't require repeating.  
  
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"Come on, ji-chan! Are you going to finish the tale or not?"  
  
The old inu had been quiet for quite some time. The pups had started getting restless and rowdy, so he had just stopped talking until they noticed.  
  
"No."  
  
A chorus of 'aww' filled the room while the elder still sat at the head of the group, sulking like a little kid.  
  
"Otou-san, if you don't want to finish it I will," Sayaka volunteered.  
  
"Finish what?" asked another female voice.  
  
Every little head turned, recognizing this particular female. "Ba-chan!" they yelled, causing chaos as every pup not too embarrassed to receive a kiss or pat from the lead female stumbled over each other to get to her.  
  
"What's going on she asked?" giving each and every pup a moment of her attention. Most of them were her grandchildren by blood, but even those who weren't received no less love from her.  
  
"Otou-san was telling 'The Assassin and the Sorceress' and got frustrated when the pups got a little restless," Sayaka called to her mother over the high-pitched voices.  
  
The female glared over the children at her mate. "Still acting like a child, inu-jiji?"  
  
"You always were a disrespectful bitch," the elder snapped at his mate. "You're nearly as old as I am."  
  
She tossed her silver hair over her shoulders while her ears perked forward in amusement. "I can't help that I've aged so gracefully."  
  
"Graceful? Is that what you call it?"  
  
"You still like it," she reminded him, staring him down from across the floor.  
  
He looked away and had anyone been close enough, they would've noticed him blushing. His mate laughed at his embarrassment.  
  
"Come now, children. If ji-chan won't tell the tale, then I will."  
  
The pups cheered and returned to their seats waiting for their favorite ba- chan to finish the tale. She approached her mate's seat and shoved at him with her hip to move him. "Move over, inu-jiji."  
  
He glared at her before scooting over a bit to make room. She got comfortable on the rocky seat and asked her daughter where he had left off.  
  
"He was just about to start the part where Inu Yasha first entered Breuil," Sayaka answered.  
  
"Oh, okay then..,"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Inu Yasha knew he would have to take his time gathering information for this 'job'. He had entered the town of Breuil cloaked and hooded passing himself off as ordinary citizen, as no few of the city's inhabitants kept themselves thus covered to give themselves some sort of respite from the energy sapping heat.  
  
This wasn't Inu's first time in an urban center, but it was the first time he had ever seen so many hanyous in one place. Not only that, but there were humans and youkai there as well, all coexisting peacefully. It wasn't often to see a mixed group chatting or laughing in the streets or at a food and drink establishment or to see a mixed couple holding hands while walking with their children of blended blood following closely behind. More than once Inu had to stop himself from staring. Any where else he had been kept strict separations between species, whether enforced or involuntary. In his own pack he had been ridiculed for being a hanyou. It didn't matter that he was inu hanyou and that the only difference between him and everyone else were ears and the lack of a true form transformation, he was still different and it brought him no small amount of grief all through his childhood.  
  
'What kind of ruler is able to keep the peace in a city like this?' he thought. Anyone with the will to hold such a motley group together surely must be formidable.  
  
But that was why he was here, to gather information on Breuil's queen. A woman he had only heard about vaguely. He had been told she possessed a miko's power, but that she was ruthless and ruled with an iron fist. Inu had never heard in his life of a miko in such a position of authority. Miko's were usually ordinary priestesses and healers that performed the occasional exorcism on the side. He expected to go through a lengthy investigation before he even thought about attempting the actual kill.  
  
Even at the height of day when business was brisk, Inu Yasha touched not a soul. He wanted no recollections of his visit. He spent a few days getting to know the layout of the city. He waded through the crowds seamlessly. Making it his business to visit a cartographer's shop before every job, he was already vaguely familiar with Breuil's layout though it did have its own peculiar twist. Like most cities, the outskirts was taken up by warehouses, mills, smithies, and other large scale trades not welcomed in the inner city. The smells of damp clay and smoke greeted his nose long before he reached the city's outer walls confirmed that knowledge. However the farther he went into Breuil, the more surprised and impressed he was. Although, you could see the palace from outside the city walls, it disappeared almost immediately after you entered the city proper, as it was blocked by buildings lining the streets. Not only that, but the streets wound around and around the city with no direct route to the palace. Invasion would be nearly impossible even if the outer walls could be breached; one not familiar with the streets would be sure to lose their way.  
  
'Someone put a lot of thought into this place,' he thought. 'If this queen of theirs is responsible, it seems like I might have a worthy target for once.'  
  
Using his keen senses, Inu Yasha was able to keep track of how deeply he penetrated the city. Shops, taverns, and vendors were overwhelmingly plentiful and the further in he went, the greater the quality. He even stopped occasionally in the irregularly placed market squares wanting to appear to be somewhat of an ordinary visitor by browsing through the goods. Soon places of business blended into the homes of the wealthy, a sign he was nearing the palace, but without warning the opulent homes gave way to a two story wrought iron gate set into sandstone walls several feet thick. Currently, the gates were closed guarded on either side by two humans and two youkai. Inu Yasha hardly spared them a glance and instead walked up on the gates to peer inside.  
  
"Back away from the gate, hanyou," the guard nearest to his left warned him. Inu Yasha glanced to either side of him and found himself in close company with four spear tips.  
  
He raised his hands to show he meant no harm and backed away. "I was just looking. Damn, if this is how visitors are treated maybe I should go back where I came from."  
  
"A wise decision."  
  
Inu Yasha turned away and left, smirking beneath his hood. 'As if those weaklings really could've done anything if I really wanted to get in.' He glanced over his shoulder to see that the four had taken up their same positions looking as if they hadn't just been threatening him a moment ago.  
  
'I'll come back later tonight. I need to find a place to stay while I'm here," he thought as he retraced his steps back to a less appealing part of town.  
  
Anywhere that was inhabited by a large amount of people had its seedier elements; those who the world at large preferred didn't exist and Breuil was no exception to that rule. Shoved as far away from decent folk as possible without putting them in the warehouse district was where the poor, destitute, and down right no good dwelled. The smell of excrement and unwashed bodies was nearly over powering and was making Inu Yasha's nose water. He looked around at his options as he walked, ignoring suggestive prostitutes and avoiding the wandering hands of the pick pockets as he went. In all reality his search for an inn was a choice of lesser evils: on one hand he would have the privacy he desired, but on the other hand he would have to deal with equally squalid conditions.  
  
The inn least offensive to his nose had a sign hanging over its door with a faded picture of blue lantern with its glass broken, obviously the place was called the Broken Lantern, and after entering Inu Yasha could tell it was aptly named. The place was positively smothered in darkness; the only light in the whole common room came from the hearth, which was partially blocked by a huge pot hanging over the fire, and a stingy little candle on the inn keeper's counter. Had he not possessed the superior eyesight his youkai heritage afforded, he wouldn't have been able to see even half the people in there. Figures shrouded much like Inu Yasha himself huddled around tables murmuring to each other creating the least boisterous scene ever found in any tavern. Fairly confident that his privacy would be secure he approached the man at the counter.  
  
"Oi! I need a room for a few days," Inu Yasha demanded.  
  
The big, hairy man sitting there squinted at Inu Yasha as if he couldn't quite see him. "Da on'y room I gots 'vailable don't got no hearth and da winder looks over'n alley out back."  
  
"That's fine," he accepted. "I want my meals sent to my room. Other than that, I don't want anyone bothering me."  
  
The man's eyes seemed to widen a bit, seeing an opportunity to make a little extra. "Tha's gonna cost ya."  
  
"No problem." Inu Yasha reached into his pouch he kept just for this purpose and pulled out a pearl the size of a large cherry and handed it to Squinty Eyes. "How's that?"  
  
Squinty Eyes nearly choked seeing the size and color of the gem. He examined it a bit before nodding. "Thank ya, sir. Yer meals will be brought to ya jus after dawn 'n berfor dusk. Udder den dat, not a soul will bot'er ya."  
  
'Money: The universal language.' Inu Yasha thought smugly.  
  
Squinty Eyes gestured to someone in the common room and one shape separated from the rest putting its self to rights as it came over. It proved to be a female, likely the tavern wench and even more likely a prostitute when the price was right. She was still pulling her bodice back into place when she joined the two men and she smiled in a way that was supposed to be flirtatious, but the mouthful of crooked, yellow teeth kind of killed the effect.  
  
"Noma, take dis gennilmen here ta da room at da end of da hall," Squinty Eyes told her.  
  
Noma just nodded back and walked off assuming Inu Yasha would follow her, which he did, anxious for the first time in days to get off his feet. The room was on the second floor and every bit as private as he could have wished. It was a little on the small side he thought as she opened the door, but it would do.  
  
"If'n ya needs anythin' else sir," Noma offered. Inu Yasha saw that at some point during the trip upstairs, the female's bodice laces had become undone and her sleeves slipped off her shoulders.  
  
"I don't think so," and he shut the door in her face and slammed the bolt home to lock it.  
  
He dropped everything where he stood; the cloak, the carefully concealed weapons, his clothes, and most especially the boots he had been wearing all day. He normally didn't wear shoes, but again, one less thing for anyone to comment on. He opened the window to let some kind of breeze blow through before flopping down on the pallet that served as his bed, folding his arms behind his head to stare at the ceiling while he was thinking.  
  
He knew the next few days would be spent solely gathering information. He needed to be ready for this one. Naraku wanted this done out in the open; the more people who saw it, the better. Inu Yasha preferred to be able to just sneak in, take someone out in their sleep, and be gone before anyone knew better. However, the rush of blood lust was also a favorite when having to conduct a job in front of others. This would be a rare treat for him and he intended to get it right.  
  
~*~  
  
Kagome descended the grand staircase of the palace; head high in a posture every bit as regal as her mother claimed their family to be, pace unhurried as her sandaled feet lightly touched each sandstone step without a sound. She took her accustomed seat to the right of her mother's throne on one of the massive gilded blocks that bordered the staircase. A few of her other siblings had also arrived: the eldest, her sister Kikyo, as well as two of her elder ookami hanyou brothers, Yoshita and Namru. Her other brother, Ryohe, was at the bottom of the stairs talking to the Captain of the guard. Kikyo also took a similar position to Kagome's, but to the left of the stairs and exactly at the foot of their mother's throne. Her brothers stood at either side of the throne, though in no way serving in any guard type capacity. Queen Yokota insisted that all of her children attend audience sessions. Why? None of them really knew, but Kagome always assumed that this display of her offspring was supposed to be some show of how prolific she was. Kagome found it to be a stupid idea. If anyone ever got it in their head to try to overthrow the current ruler, it would be a simple idea to try during an audience session and get them all at once.  
  
It wasn't even as if Queen Yokota asked for her children's council or protection during these sessions. She had complete and total faith in her guards, her pet mages, and, not least of all, Kagome. Maybe that was the point of having all her children there, so that she would be able to keep Kagome at her side knowing the girl would stop any attack towards her siblings.  
  
Kagome crossed her legs, folded her hands primly in her lap and sat quietly; the picture of perfect child obedience while waiting for everyone else to arrive. She watched the all the people before them trying to assess anyone who may be a danger. Most of the people there were harmless and those with any malice weren't holding it towards the royal family or so Kagome's senses told her. Already, the courtyard was full of people waiting to have their grievances heard and decided on. Fortunately, petty squabbles never made it this far, the lower courts took care of those, but there were certain occurrences that only the queen could handle. Certainly those of noble birth came straight to the queen, not feeling they should have to wait through the peasant judiciary system, and also peoples who rulings would have a direct effect on the city as a whole.  
  
The queen's youngest children, Souta and Rin, arrived with all the regality of their elder siblings. Quite a feat considering they had not yet achieved adolescence. They held hands during their solemn descent, but their deceptively calm faces quickly fell when they saw their favorite older sister already seated below. The two hurried to their seats at her feet as they favored Kagome with their sunshiny smiles. Kagome allowed herself only a small upward tilt of her lips, upon seeing the youngest of the brood. Even after they sat their ruddy faces grinned in delight.  
  
Souta tugged on her wrist completely without fear to gain her attention. "Kagome, did you hear?" he asked excitedly.  
  
Kagome raised a brow in question.  
  
"Our gift!" Rin piped up. "Mother has promised us a gift after the audiences today! Do you know what she's gotten for us?"  
  
"Afraid not,"  
  
Both little smiles fell slightly as some of their earlier enthusiasm was in hopes that Kagome would make a good informant.  
  
"However," she leaned down to whisper to them conspiratorially, "I'm sure it's probably something with four legs and neighs."  
  
Kagome would have sworn their eyes were the size of dinner plates and their squealing would have pierced the deafest ears had not their mother arrived with the accustomed fanfare. Her children stood while all the people below kneeled in respect.  
  
Queen Yokota was a woman time had been most favorable towards. After several children and the stress of holding together a kingdom of mixed heritages, she looked no older than the day she first assumed leadership. She nodded in recognition to her people and sat on the throne made just for this occasion. Her major domo came forward, a portly little man dressed in tastelessly colored clothing old enough to be queen's grandfather, but spoke with a voice that would cow the furor of a battle field. Kagome always felt that he found himself to be more important than he actually was, but he served a purpose and she kept her opinions, as always, to herself.  
  
He rapped the staff he always carried smartly against the steps below, silencing any further murmurs. "Her most gracious highness, Queen Yokota, will now accept the first petitioner!"  
  
~*~  
  
Inu Yasha had taken into account that Breuil possessed more towering buildings than many other cities he had been in. While a benefit, considering they blocked the view of the palace as well as cast a shade on the streets, they also made surreptitious jaunts at night around the city all the more covert. From roof to roof he leapt, no more noticeable than a bird. Silence being his forte made things that much easier as he plotted and investigated. He honestly doubted the inhabitants made use of this alternate route. Other than the occasional rooftop garden, there wasn't a thing to be found up there. He was always careful to stay as high as possible since he didn't want anyone to be able to look down on him, though a streak of brown would hardly be an unnatural occurrence. It was from here, though, that he learned of excellent placement of a ledge that looked directly onto to palace entrance. Nearly high enough to be level with the second landing from the top, he had a clear vantage point to watch anything going on below, including the comings and goings of anyone important.  
  
He had learned a few days ago that the entire royal family put in an appearance when the queen presided over any major deputes of the Breuilians. Everyone knew where she'd be, how long she would be there, and upon further questioning, just how many guards would be there and where they'd be positioned.  
  
It had taken a bit longer than he had expected before Inu Yasha found a spot from which he felt he would be secure to take aim. Already he had spent more time than he wanted to in this city. Tomorrow was the new moon and he wanted to have the job over and done with and be long gone before then.  
  
He pulled his rarely used bow from under his cloak and restrung it. He knocked an arrow and prepared to wait. He sat and watched keeping his eyes trained along the shaft toward his prey waiting for the perfect moment.  
  
~*~  
  
Kagome was nearly bored to tears before they were even halfway through the audience. She remembered the unsettled feeling she had this morning and prayed that SOMETHING would happen. For once she was extremely glad that Kikyo was the heir. Kagome felt that in no way she had the patience to actually be able to sit through this AND pay attention. Fortunately, the only thing she had to pay any attention to was the behavior of the crowd. In a way, the people were her domain, at least the one's who failed to follow that law were. It had been made clear long ago that Kagome served as the hunter, warden, and executioner to the miscreants of Breuil. Not titles that she wanted to bear, but Yokota was her mother, and Breuilian children were taught to honor and obey their parents without question.  
  
Something told her she should be grateful that her mother had given her a place; usually there was no position for the second daughter and fratricide was not an uncommon practice in their land. However, she couldn't seem to find any benefit that was truly worth her duties.  
  
Kagome continued to survey the crowd from left to right, occasionally glancing at her family to see if they might have spotted anything she hadn't, but nothing was out of the ordinary even though she swore she kept seeing something in her peripheral vision. Whenever she tried to look in the direction head on, there was nothing there.  
  
'Maybe I should stop wishing for something to happen. My imagination is working overtime and making me see things that aren't there,' she thought rubbing her eyes to rid it of the glare some of the people below were casting with the shiny trinkets they were wearing.  
  
Luck may have been with her on this one because she looked dead on at the very thing that had been eluding her visions for the past candle mark. Outside the low palace wall, on a manor high enough to just peek above the palace walls crouched a brown figure, or what appeared to be a figure in Kagome's eyes. It was too far away to really tell.  
  
She raised a hand to her brow to block out some of the sun so she could get a better look not that it helped much. 'For all I know that could be a pile of manure sitting up there,' she joked to herself.  
  
Then it shifted. 'Except piles of manure don't usually move on their own.'  
  
Kagome put her hand down, but continued to stare at the same spot. It moved again after a few moments and she was sure a person was sitting there, but why? Sure it was a good spot to watch from, but sitting in this blazing sun in that cloak had to have been ridiculously hot. A slight breeze blew over the crowd, but it blew hard enough for Kagome to catch a pair of shining, golden eyes hidden beneath the shifting voluminous hood and have the strangest feeling come over her.  
  
~*~  
  
'Who is that?' They both thought simultaneously. Their eyes caught each other with more than a thread of recognition, halting any further thoughts. Kagome nearly jumped from her seat while only years of training kept Yash from dropping his bow completely.  
  
'Who is she?' Inu Yasha wondered as he stared back at the young female who's skin was surely too pale for brazen sun over head with eyes that reflected that same sunlight like a highly polished mirror. 'Which daughter is she?'  
  
"What am I thinking?" he growled at himself. "I'm here for a job."  
  
Inu Yasha lifted the bow, sighting his target again, he drew unwavering. 'I've never failed,' he thought. 'Miroku is counting on me for this.'  
  
~*~  
  
Kagome didn't know who the strange male with golden eyes was or why she was suddenly so drawn to him. She couldn't even see his face; only a pair of glowing eyes.  
  
'Who is he?' she thought, 'and more importantly, what is he doing?'  
  
She watched as he drew the previously unnoted bow back, arrow knocked, aiming for....  
  
"Oh, no!" Kagome shouted in the first emotion she had shown in years, leaping from her seat and causing everyone around her to stare at her in shock.  
  
The snap of the string was overly loud in Kagome's ears and the air being cut in its passing whistled like the wind going through a musician's reed pipe. Her senses seemed to enhance and her thoughts moved faster than a bolt of lightning, though the hand she held up in warding seemed to most to be absurdly ineffectual. Her minor defense was thought of differently when the previously unseen arrow vanished against a barrier of violet light, followed by a second and a third. Petitioners and spectators alike screamed and began shoving against one another to get away.  
  
~*~  
  
Inu Yasha knew of the holy powers of the queen and her daughters, but he hadn't expected such a barrier to be able to defend against such a mundane weapon as an arrow, being that it was neither magical nor evil in composition. His second and third bolts were as ineffective as the first. He would have been better prepared if he had known someone so close to the royal family possessed a different sort of magic than everyone else.  
  
'Hell, I wouldn't even have chosen something so direct,' he thought with his bow in hand, jumping to the next rooftop to make a run for it. This was where all that time spent studying the city layout would come into play. Inu Yasha had no doubts that his escape was certain.  
  
~*~  
  
"GUARD!" Kagome commanded. "AFTER HIM!"  
  
Kagome made an inhuman leap from the steps over the heads of all the people below, eliciting gasps from most of them, shedding her sandals and taking up the chase herself. Nearly every guard in attendance followed at Kagome's heels. The rest formed a protective circle around the queen and her children.  
  
"Kagome," the queen called.  
  
Said child skidded to a halt even as the guard she had previously ordered continued to rush by her, stirring their own wind and whipping up her hair in the process. Kagome looked to her mother waiting for her additional instructions.  
  
"I want him alive."  
  
Kagome looked at her mother as if she just told her to go out and find a husband, her look clearly stricken. Queen Yokota rarely asked for assassins to be brought back alive. As the last of the guard passed, Kagome nodded her ascension to her mother's order and shot from the courtyard intent on being the one to catch the assassin herself. She caught up to the guards quickly enough and made it clear that if one death strike was aimed at their prey, that she would flay the defiant one herself. No small threat, they took her words to heart.  
  
Rather than stay with the pack, Kagome opted for a higher route. The first balcony she was able to jump to gave her a boost to the roofs above. Figuring their prey wouldn't want to sacrifice the advantage of unrestricted flight by hopping from roof to roof, she thought it would be the best way for her to go as well. Once she finally pulled herself up, her softly callused hands, used to only handling a bow, complained of the coarse bricks forming the perimeter of the roof even as her feet welcomed the sun-warmed tiles that covered the rest. She scanned the area looking for a sign.  
  
"Where? Where could you have gone?" she nearly snarled, tilting her head back checking for the possibility that he might've taken to the skies.  
  
Kagome found herself sniffing the air, much as she had seen her hanyou brothers do. For her though, it was an exercise in futility and wondered what made her try it.  
  
'What am I doing? I'm no youkai,' she scolded herself. She held out a hand, sending a spell of location. 'I'll do this my way.'  
  
Kagome regretted the loss of her ability to purify, but in its place her ability to sense youki became fine tuned. In a city of hanyou and youkai, her senses should've been buzzing wildly, but they weren't. After the 'accident', she could now selectively sort one's youki from another; she just had to know what she was looking for.  
  
'The arrows had the faintest trace of youki from the youkai that handled it, that's the 'scent' I want.' Kagome's eyes unfocused as she concentrated on setting her mind to the task, searching for the youki and for the golden eyes that flitted through her memory. It seemed forever, but only a few moments had passed before she got the tingly feeling she was looking for. Her gaze turned west with the sudden awareness of her target. She could feel his frantic yet calculated movements in his scramble to escape.  
  
'He's headed for the West Gate,' she thought, rejoining the chase. "Why would he choose that way? There's nothing beyond that gate but dried up flats.'  
  
~*~  
  
Inu Yasha kept up no semblance of stealth for his escape. The guard kept up their chase, though none followed him to the roofs. That too in time proved itself a liability as they were able to continually catch glimpses of him in the gaps between. The ground and its thick crowds suddenly seemed like a better idea.  
  
The first alley nearly wide enough to be a true pathway and lined with doors to shops was the one Inu Yasha ducked into, his hooded cape fluttering wildly and snapped as he ducked into the nearest shop without stirring up too many patrons. He heard the thunderous footsteps pass the alley without hesitation and he cautiously peaked out the door, still careful to remain shrouded. Obviously, no one had seen him jump down and assumed he had gone on. He shed the cloak without preamble, balling it up and stuffing it in a corner of the shop. No one as yet had seen his face so he would be as safe with it as without it. He also discarded the bow, but kept the sword at his side and the knife in his boot, both heirlooms left to him by his late father.  
  
After waiting a moment more, he walked out of the shop casually bringing as little attention to himself as possible. He was heading for the gate that led out the western side of the city; his pace quick, but not frantically hurried. The only way to the gate was fraught with many people and he was jostled constantly by people who thought they were in a bigger hurry than he.  
  
'Almost there,' he thought, spotting the huge watering fountain that was just inside the city. He looked around warily. "This is easy, too easy."  
  
"You're right, it was," said a feminine voice. He turned quick and right behind him stood the female from the steps that blocked his arrows. She had her hand on her hip and head cocked to the side as if she were regarding something interesting. The look on her face was not the one of self satisfaction or cockiness for managing to catch up to him, nor was it broiling anger at someone who had attempted to kill the queen. No, she looked as if she had misplaced a sandal and was slightly perturbed when it wasn't where she believed to have left it. "The guards here are a lot more slack than I thought."  
  
Inu growled at the female who had gotten so close to him without his knowledge. She even had the nerve to be carrying his bow on her back. "Back off, bitch, before you get hurt!" and to emphasize his threat he pulled his knife.  
  
She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Am I really supposed to be afraid of that? Don't you remember the show earlier? I assure you I'm capable of more than that. Besides, you're already surrounded, you know."  
  
And sure enough when Yash gave the barest glance to the crowds around him, he was surrounded on all sides. His legs tensed ready for any chance to escape, all he had to do was spot the path of least resistance.  
  
"Maybe you would have a better chance if you drew the sword," she suggested, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Keh! That's what you think!" He dove to her right, nearly brushing her skin in passing and completely catching her by surprise. He guarded his face with his right forearm rushing the guards behind her and knocking them down with no effort. Using a beast's rump for leverage, he jumped to its back and smacked its rump startling it into a headlong gallop knocking everyone over who didn't get out of the way fast enough. Guiding the animal with his knees, his target was still the gates.  
  
"SHUT THE GATES, NOW!" he heard the girl scream over the din of the crowds.  
  
Inu Yasha spurred the beast harder, sending it barreling through the crowds recklessly. Already its flanks were sweating and mouth frothing, but he'd be damned if he was going to be caught. In answer to the girl's call, the gates were slowly, but surely closing; they were massive things and the process of gathering the men to close it as well as clearing people out of the way was taking time. Inu Yasha was sure he could make it and spurred the beast even harder not at all concerned for its well being; he didn't need it once he got outside the gates.  
  
~*~  
  
Kagome had found the shop fairly quick. No one inside said a word to her and most outright ignored her obviously not recognizing her. She felt around for the youki she had been following and it led her to the abandoned cloak and bow. She ignored the cloak and took the bow, astonished that it was left behind because of its superior quality. The strength required to would be too great for the average archer. Obviously, her quarry had already gone on, so she slung the bow on her back and took off out the door continuing to follow the trail.  
  
It was unusually busy for this time of day, but with all the caravans that seemed to have decided to descend on Breuil today it wasn't surprising. She shoved her way through the crowds, sensing she was getting closer and so signaled the guards nearest to her to form up into a loose pincer formation. The closer she got to the unknown youkai, the more intense the feeling got. A glimmer of white darted into her line of sight and she knew that was who she was following.  
  
All she could see was their back, but she could tell it was a male even with the waist length white hair tied into a tail at his nape. His pants were a bright red, surely unwise since he was being chased, and his feet were bare like her own. The closer she got the more she appreciated that he was no lay about, the rippling muscles of his back and arms bespoke high amounts of activity and only a healthy and vigorous person could have evaded them this long. But catch him they would; no one was allowed to escape and the looming West Gate ahead enforced that thought.  
  
~*~  
  
'Almost there,' he thought. His jaw was clenched as the beast he was astride continued to pound to the steadily closing gates, willing the worn creature to go even faster. 'I'm going to make it!'  
  
Well, maybe he would have if the rest of the men who manned the gates hadn't showed up speeding up the process. 'Shit! I'm not going to make it!'  
  
His mind raced with alternatives; no options to either the left of right and behind was definitely out of the question, they'd snatch him off before he got too far. None of the other city exits were close enough to use. He glanced upwards gauging the height of the walls encasing the city, moving at a pace not his own would make the jump more difficult, but what other option did he have?  
  
Inu Yasha jumped to the beast's back, maintaining his hold its mane until he was balanced. Timing it carefully, he crouched slightly, tensing his muscles for the jump and made his leap for freedom. The wind whistling through his ears was shortly accompanied by the sound of his mount careening into the gates at the last moment. No great loss; he was going to clear the wall..or so he thought until a sharp pain tore through his shoulder throwing him completely off balance and instead of soaring over the wall he dove into it.  
  
The hit against the wall was enough to addle his wits, but crashing to the ground, which caused the arrow embedded his shoulder to snap off from the head, completely knocked him unconscious from the pain.  
  
Kagome caught up to the fallen assassin, regarding him coolly. She still held his bow in her hand along with the second arrow she had taken from a bystander. "You didn't really expect to escape, did you?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"That's not what happened!" her mate cut in.  
  
"Yes, it is. If you're too old to remember how the story goes maybe you shouldn't have been telling it in the first place!" she snapped, the fire in her eyes sufficient cause for him to back down.  
  
"As I was saying.,"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Inu Yasha writhed and snarled as he tried to gain release from those who held him, but they dragged him into the throne room shoving him roughly to the floor to show respect to the queen and her daughters. As simple as it sounds, it was a constant battle to keep him down, and the guards would sport no few amount of scrapes and bruises. Ever since he had regained consciousness, he made himself no small problem.  
  
"Kagome, Kikyo, bind him," Yokota ordered simply.  
  
Kikyo' closed her eyes and clasped her hands quickly in prayer, her easiest method of summoning her power. A warm, violet glow surrounded her briefly giving a physical manifestation to her power before the glow transferred itself to the inu hanyou squirming to get away from the four guards holding him. Immediately, all struggles stopped and his face took on a semi-blank look. The guards released him, but remained warily at his side.  
  
"Kagome, you have to hurry," Kikyo barely managed to whisper, a sheen a sweat forming on her brow. "His will is strong and I can't hold him for too much longer."  
  
Not waiting for further prodding, Kagome removed the sash from her waist and held it taut before her, infusing it with her own power. She snapped one end out, keeping a tight hold on the other as the energy snaked from the sash and wrapped itself in a complete circle around the hanyou. The light hovered around him lazily until Kagome took up the lose end and tied the sash in a loose knot, which corresponded with the ring of blue light which tightened around the hanyou until his arms appeared to be at his sides tight enough to crush his ribs. Still held by Kikyo's spell, he showed no signs of discomfort, but once Kagome heard her sister's sigh of relief, she immediately noted the signs of coherence returning to the would- be assassin. He eyed the three females and snarled in defiance, his ears flat against his skull, not quite realizing his situation obviously.  
  
"So," the queen spoke, "thought to get rid of me the conventional way, I suppose."  
  
"I was doing them a favor. No self respecting youkai would allow themselves to be ruled by a human bitch and a miko no less."  
  
Kagome pulled the ends of the sash tighter, causing him to squirm and wheeze for a moment. No one disrespected her mother! Queen Yokota smiled. "Oh, really? Then why are there so many here?"  
  
"Like I said, no self respecting youkai would allow themselves to be ruled by a human bitch," Inu Yasha snapped back.  
  
The queen's laughter echoed off the walls of the throne room causing an otherworldly sound. No doubt something she intended; one of her methods meant to intimidate.  
  
"I won't beat around the proverbial bush any longer, just tell me who sent you here and I'll let you go after sufficient punishment."  
  
"As if I'd tell you," he spat.  
  
The queen's eyes narrowed briefly. "Kagome."  
  
Kagome tightened the binding around him even more, pulling harder and harder until he slumped on the floor to his face. She heard all his bones creak and even as she was sure they were about to break she kept tugging. He refused to make a single sound.  
  
"Hold," Queen Yokota ordered. She stared at the inu hanyou below her and knew that this one was probably the type to die before leaking any useful information. Fortunately, all assassins had their price. "Look, boy, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."  
  
"..no.m-more.d.eals..," he managed to gasp out.  
  
"Come now," the queen persuaded, rising from her seat and descending the few stairs to stand unworriedly over their captive. "Tell me and I'll double whatever they're paying you."  
  
Inu Yasha could hardly breathe much less respond. He was still trying to think of a way to escape, though with no resistance to magic on his own, that escape was highly unlikely. Maybe he should talk. Naraku was no friend of his, much less a real employer and if this queen was all that people said she was there may be another way to help Miroku's mate.  
  
".f-ine.," he breathed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"This is a bunch of bullshit!" he cut her off again. "He didn't talk! He didn't deal!"  
  
His mate, finally fed up, jumped up from her seat. "Then if you don't like it, go back to the den and you don't have to listen!" she gestured to their den and after a moment, he actually got up and left.  
  
Sayaka watched her parents with an amused expression at their all too common exchange. Her father always insisted he was right and her mother would always bully him into thinking otherwise. Her mother sat back down with the same pleasant expression that was usually on her face and continued.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Good!" the queen praised and raised a hand waving Kagome off a bit, so that he could talk. "Now who is it?"  
  
Inu Yasha drug in deep breaths of air, careful not to wince and show weakness as his lungs protested from their starvation. He got to his knees and glared at Queen Yokota who was still standing over him. "Not so fast, bitch. How do I know that you'll keep up your end of the deal?"  
  
"I swear, little koinu, that my word is my bond," the queen promised solemnly. "As always, I'll promise one of my daughters should my word ever be broken."  
  
Inu Yasha looked at her strangely, his ears perked forward; she would give up one of her pups is she were ever caught in a lie? This bitch really was strange. Well, it wasn't for him to decide.  
  
"So, name your price," she asked.  
  
He shook his shaggy head. "No price. I need something else."  
  
Queen Yokota's brow furrowed. It seemed this one was going to be difficult. "Maybe you misunderstood my offer? Money for a name is the deal."  
  
"I don't need your money, I need.assistance," Inu Yasha felt degraded having to ask someone for help, but after all the trouble he went through to get Miroku out he knew he wasn't going to be as lucky a second time.  
  
"Go on."  
  
"My employer is holding someone; I want them back. If you want a name and don't want me to return to finish my job, I need someone to help me get that person back. There are too many.traps for me to get through on my own."  
  
"So what you need is someone of the magical persuasion?" she asked rhetorically. "You've already got the physical strength," she stated eyeing him appreciatively, "you just need someone to help you bypass the less corporeal opposition."  
  
"Something like that."  
  
The queen tapped her brow thoughtfully and turned to go back to her throne. She sat and still looked to be considering her options.  
  
"Well, since someone went the all the trouble of sending The Inu Yasha for me, then I supposed I should respond in kind."  
  
"You know who I am?!" he asked incredulously.  
  
"Of course I do. How many inu youkai, much less hanyous, excel at assassination? If you're an example of what your kind can do, more should take it up. It would put your people in high demand."  
  
"I'm not here to discuss my pack's trade!" he snapped.  
  
"No, no, of course not," she said waving a hand dismissively, but still contemplating her selection. "Then there's no point in holding anything back. Kagome,"  
  
Kagome looked at her mother oddly from where she stood, praying she wasn't going to suggest what she thought.  
  
"You shall go."  
  
Kagome blinked as if that would somehow clear her hearing. Maybe she was daydreaming. Her mother did not just say that she was going to help some strange inu hanyou as he went to destroy her mother's enemy. Anyone looking at Inu Yasha would see that he too had a confused look on his face.  
  
"Your pardon, Mother, but could you repeat that please?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"You will help Inu Yasha here find whoever it is he's looking for and destroy whoever sent him in the first place."  
  
Yup her mother just repeated exactly what she had thought she meant.  
  
"I'm not taking that bitch with me!" Inu Yasha yelled from his kneeling position on the floor. "What the hell is she supposed to do?"  
  
Queen Yokota's icy glare forestalled any further words from him. "She caught you didn't she?"  
  
"So she got lucky," he snarled, his male ego obviously hurt.  
  
"And I would appreciate it if you kept those derogatory names to yourself. While you may call me whatever you please, I will not allow you to do so to my daughter."  
  
"Keh! Whatever."  
  
"I'm sure you don't need that tongue to accomplish this mission."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Kagome is more than adequate for your needs. Her abilities are second to none and a little practical use will only improve her."  
  
Kagome stared at her mother hard pressed to keep the disbelief off her face. She was sitting there, telling some stranger who just tried to kill her only a few candle marks ago personal business, and she was sending her daughter off to with him to fight some even more dangerous enemy? Kagome was starting to wish she had never gotten out of bed this morning.  
  
"But Mother, don't you need me here?" Kagome asked, almost pleading.  
  
"No, I can use more mundane methods until your return. I need you more at this."  
  
"But -,"  
  
"No 'buts' Kagome!" the queen snapped. "You will do as I say! Is that clear?"  
  
Kagome bowed her head in obeisance. "Yes, Lady Mother."  
  
"Good," Queen Yokota purred, pleased with her child's acquiescence. She returned her attention to Inu Yasha. "Now who sent you?" 


End file.
